Barry Dierks

American architect

Barry Dierks

Born| 1899

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (US)

Died| February 20, 1960
Education| Carnegie Institute of Technology
École des beaux-arts de Paris
Occupation| Architect
Known for| Residences in the Modernist style on the French Riviera
Partner| Colonel Eric Sawyer

Barry Dierks (1899 – February 20, 1960) was an American architect of the Modernist movement. He was active in France, principally on the French Riviera from 1925 to the 1950s.

## Biography

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Son of W. C. Dierks, managing director of C. C. Mellor pianos, Barry Dierks studied architecture at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, from which he obtained his diploma in 1921. He continued his studies at the École des beaux-arts in Paris in the studio of Léon Jaussely.[1]

The need to guarantee his stay in France led him to accept a job at the Bank Choillet. Here, he made the acquaintance of the bank's director, Colonel Eric Sawyer, former officer in the British Army, who became his lover and lifelong companion.[2] In 1925, the two decided to leave and establish themselves in the south of France. This carefully considered decision was based on Dierks' profession and the growing demand for country houses in a region where wealthy clients – many of whom were British – built.

At Théoule-sur-Mer, in the Alpes-Maritimes, he discovered a 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft) isolated site on a private peninsula on the Pointe de l’Esquillon with an inaccessible cove and a private beach where they built their house, the villa Le Trident. This first effort was noticed by Eric's friends and became the emblem of Dierks’ savoir-faire.

Between 1925 and 1960, the year of Dierks’ death, more than 100 commissions – designs as well as remodeling and enlargements of existing villas – have been tallied. His client base, made up of aristocrats, artists, and business leaders, seemed to have been built by word of mouth. Dierks and his partner were active participants in the social life of the French Riviera.[1]

In Dierks’ achievements, this rich and cultivated clientele found the answer to their desire for a restrained modernity without excess. The architect built for them elegant and functional buildings, where the views and the light of the Mediterranean were skillfully highlighted.[1]

During the Second World War, Barry Dierks conducted humanitarian operations before leaving the regions, and Eric Sawyer joined the Resistance. In 1946, General Georges Catroux noted his consideration, in this respect, in a eulogistic note in the guestbook of the villa Le Trident.

In 1956, Dierks' leg was amputated following an illness. He died on February 20, 1960, with Eric Sawyer surviving him until 1985.

## Achievements

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According to a study published in 2004, 102 construction sites led by Dierks have been reported. Among these commissions, 66 were for British clients and 25 were for French clients. Nearly one-quarter of the villas built were for aristocrats.[1][3]

The following table presents a partial list of works by Barry Dierks

Date | Name | Client | Address | IGPC

|
|
|
|

1925 | Villa Le Trident | Barry Dierks | 8, impasse Renoir, Théoule-sur-Mer |
1927 | Villa La Mauresque | Somerset Maugham | 52, boulevard du Gal-de-Gaulle, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat | n° IA06000981[4]
1928 | Villa La Reine Jeanne | Paul-Louis Weiller | Hameau de Cabasson, Bormes-les-Mimosas |
1930 | Villa Saint-Ange | Hedwige d’Ursel | Le Brusc, Six-Fours-les-Plages | n° IA83000435[5]
1932 | Château de l'Horizon[6] | Maxine Elliott | Route du Bord-de-mer, Golfe-Juan, Vallauris |
1932 | Domaine de L'Oustaroun | Marquise de Brantes | 763, chemin des Salles, Vence |
1932 | Villa Les Aspres | Marquise de Ganay | Grasse |
1933 | Manoir Eden Roc | Marquess of Cholmondeley | Golfe-Juan |
1936 | Villa Lilliput | Amiral-comte Antoine Sala | 40, boulevard James-Wyllie, Antibes | n° IA06001101[7]
1937 | Villa Lou Vieï | Herman Rogers | 10 bis, ancien chemin de Vallauris, Cannes | n° IA06000561[8]
1937 | Villa Zéro | Mrs. Grant Milnes | 416, chemin de la Mosquée, Antibes | n° IA06001165[9]
1937 | Villa Sous le Vent | Mrs. Sidney Allen | impasse Félix, Antibes | n° IA06001166[10]
1937 | Mas de Terrafial | Frederick Price | 3, avenue Ziem, Cannes | n° IA06000364[11]
1937 | Villa Tanah Merah | George Benjamin Edward Keun | 64, avenue des Pins, Antibes | n° IA06001245[12]
1937 | Villa Le Beaurevoir | Diarmid Campbell-Johnson | 450, avenue Mrs.-L.-D.-Beaumont, Antibes | n° IA06001174[13]
1938 | Pavillon de bains[14] | M. and Mme Boissevain | 365, chemin de la Mosquée, Antibes | n° IA06001175[15]
1938 | Villa Aujourd'hui | Mrs. Audrey Chadwick | 1546, boulevard Maréchal-Juin, Antibes | n° IA06001178[16]
1939 | Villa Ad Astra | Général Catroux | 13, avenue Ziem, Cannes | n° IA06000365[17]
1939 | Villa La Cassine | Comte Damien de Martel | 112 bis, boulevard Francis-Meilland, Antibes | n° IA06001187[18]
1940 | Villa Casa Lauretta | Grace Moore | Mougins |
1940 | Villa Casa Estella | Mrs. Aubrey Cartwright | impasse Félix, Antibes | n° IA06001164[19]
1940 | Villa Aigue-Marine[20] | Howard Wilcox | 490, chemin de la Mosquée, Antibes | n° IA06001236[21]
1940 | Villa Patenôtre[22] | Raymond Patenôtre | 38, boulevard Montfleury, Cannes | n° IA06000568[23]
1940 | Clos de la Garoupe | Lord and Lady Norman | 1311, chemin de la Garoupe, Cap d'Antibes | n° IA06001210[24]
1950 | Villa Le Clocher | Lord and Lady Norman | 1472, chemin de la Garoupe, Antibes | n° IA06001154[25]
1950 | Cottage d'Eilenroc | Mr. and Mrs. Beaumont | 460, avenue Mrs. L-D Beaumont, Antibes | n° IA06001161 [26]
1951 | Villa Hier | Anthony Edgar Somers | 374, avenue Mrs. L-D Beaumont, Antibes | n° IA06001173[27]
1952 | Villa La Folie | Willoughby Norman | chemin de la Croé, Cap d'Antibes | n° IA06001211[28]
1952 | Cottage de la Garoupe | Lord and Lady Norman | 1530, chemin de la Garoupe, Cap d'Antibes | n° IA06001153[29]
1956 | Villa Piccola Bella | Mme G.L.P. Woodward | 122, avenue de Vallauris, Cannes | n° IA06000628[30]
1958 | Villa Moschetti | Joseph Moschetti | 18, rue Boucicaut, Cannes | n° IA06000620[31]
1960 | Villa du Bord de mer | Lord and Lady Norman | 1472, chemin de la Garoupe, Antibes | n° IA06001221[32]

## Notes and references

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1. ^ a b c d (in French) François Fray, conservateur du patrimoine, « La clientèle de l’architecte Barry Dierks sur la Côte d’Azur », In Situ, revue des patrimoines, n°4, ministère de la Culture, March 2004, read on line (page consulted on April 29, 2011)
2. ^ (in French) Marie-Sandrine Sgherri, « Les archi folies de la Côte d'Azur », Le Point, June 8, 2004, read on line Archived 2010-08-03 at the Wayback Machine (page consulted April 30, 2011)
3. ^ Récolement des permis de construire des villes d'Antibes et de Cannes, Fonds Andrau, Archives communales de Cannes.
4. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa la Mauresque, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
5. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Saint-Ange, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
6. ^ (in French) Archives municipales de la ville de Cannes, cote 10Fi1810 Château de l'Horizon
7. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Lilliput, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
8. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Lou Vieï, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
9. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Zéro, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
10. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Sous le Vent, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
11. ^ Base Mérimée: Mas de Terrafial, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
12. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Tanah Merah, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
13. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Le Beaurevoir, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
14. ^ Pavillon “for the use of showers and dressing rooms” (today, the villa Petit Roc), former dependency of the villa Hou Zée.
15. ^ Base Mérimée: Pavillon de bains, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
16. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Aujourd'hui, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
17. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Ad Astra, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
18. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa La Cassine, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
19. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Casa Estella, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
20. ^ Formerly the villa La Presqu'île de l'Ilette.
21. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Aigue-Marine, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
22. ^ Building destroyed; known through illustrated documents.
23. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Patenôtre, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
24. ^ Base Mérimée: Clos de la Garoupe, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
25. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Le Clocher, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
26. ^ Base Mérimée: Cottage d'Villa Eilenroc, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
27. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Hier, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
28. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa La Folie, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
29. ^ Base Mérimée: Cottage de la Garoupe, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
30. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Piccola Bella, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
31. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa Moschetti, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
32. ^ Base Mérimée: Villa du Bord de mer, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)

## External links

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* La clientèle de Barry Dierks (Direction régionale des affaires culturelles-PACA)
* Iconographie (L'Officiel de la mode, 1939)
* Barry Dierks' Villa Tanah Merah, Cap d'Antibes, South of France Archived 2013-06-24 at the Wayback Machine

* United States portal
* architecture portal

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany

Other|

* SNAC
* IdRef